If it feels like every trip to the movies lately is déjà vu—another sequel, reboot, or familiar face saving the world—you’re not imagining things. Hollywood’s obsession with franchises is stronger than ever, and the reasons go far beyond just nostalgia. Here’s a closer look at why original stories are becoming rare on the big screen—and what that means for the future of cinema.
1. Playing It Safe Is the Name of the Game
In Hollywood, the golden rule is not so much “make money”—it’s “don’t lose it.” As entertainment writer Walt Hickey explains, “Nobody ever lost their job by greenlighting safe, reliable franchise films… but lots of people have lost their jobs by greenlighting something weird that bombed.” Sequels and spin-offs are just safer bets for studio executives than untested original concepts. If your livelihood is riding on steady returns, it’s convenient to play it safe.
2. Franchises Are Proven Moneymakers
The statistics are staggering: top franchises gross billions globally. The Star Trek franchise has made more than $2.26 billion over 14 films. Kung Fu Panda has made $2.36 billion from four films, and The Conjuring franchise—horror fans love a franchise, too—has made $2.38 billion over nine films. These franchises aren’t just hits—these are repeat payers long-term.
3. Audiences Keep Showing Up
Though fans can complain about franchise fatigue, box office revenues paint a different picture. The highest-grossing films of 2024 to date are all sequels, reports Deseret News. Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Kung Fu Panda 4 are the leaders. As long as audiences continue to show up for the next installment, the studios will continue to produce them.
4. Summer Belongs to the Franchises
Where once it was a season of daring, innovative blockbusters, summer is now franchise land. This summer’s slate includes Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, Twisters, A Quiet Place: Day One, and Beetlejuice. These movies already have built-in fan groups and marketing clout, making it more difficult for original scripts to get attention in a jammed box office.
5. Original Movies Are Struggling to Break Through
It’s not all in the mind—sleek original movies are struggling more to make waves. Movies such as Challengers, Civil War, and Anyone But You have not reached $100 million at home. Even The Fall Guy, with high-profile talent and a franchise budget, flopped with a humble $28 million opening weekend. Contrast that with films decades ago, when entries such as The Lion King and Forrest Gump dominated the box office, and it’s obvious that times are different.
6. The System Is Designed to Minimize Risk
They’re taking the long game—and doing so nervously. As Walt Hickey puts it, each dollar an original idea commands is a more speculative risk than one for a reboot or a sequel. Under pressure from parent companies and investors to deliver regular profits, Hollywood goes for safe. Thus, the most outlandish or ambitious stories tend to depend on fervent filmmakers who will fund or produce them independently of the studio.
7. The Oscars Provide a Scant Safe Haven for Originality
Even with franchises taking over, there is still one arena where fearless ideas can flourish: awards season. “Oscar viability is one of the only remaining reasons to make a movie without a clear commercial hook,” Hickey says. Movies like Oppenheimer and Poor Things relied on prestige appeal so that studios could greenlight trickier stuff with the hopes of critical success—and perhaps a few trophies on the mantle.
8. The Franchise Machine Refuses to Slow Down
If you’re thinking the franchise boom is only a temporary thing, think again. The next several years are filled with sequels, prequels, and spin-offs: Moana 2, Gladiator 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Zootopia 2, Venom: The Last Dance, and many more. Studios understand these movies are moneymakers, and with worldwide audiences clamoring for familiar faces and worlds, the trend isn’t dissipating.
Familiarity Sells
So the next time you’re sitting in the theater wondering if you’ve seen it all before, it’s not your imagination. It’s an economic strategy based on understanding audience behavior and minimizing risk. Although original films continue to break through occasionally, the franchise formula remains dominant. And until the business discovers a new paradigm that’s equally secure and artistically fulfilling, get used to a whole lot more sequels, remakes, and cinematic universes on their way to a theater near you.